STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Spring was in the air at Snug Harbor Cultural Center today, and so was the spirit of volunteerism and giving back to the community.

It was all part of the first annual Spruce Up! Snug Harbor event, which drew 300 volunteers to the Livingston center to help prune, weed, rake and paint all across the grounds.

“It’s a pretty exciting day,” said Snug Harbor CEO Lynn Kelly, who has been on the job for four months and came up with the idea. “It’s a real true community event.

With students from St. John Villa, St. Peter’s Boys High School and Dreyfus Intermediate School joining volunteers from Eden II, Lifestyles for the Disabled and other borough groups, Ms. Kelly said the daylong event was also “a good way of introducing a new audience to Snug Harbor.”